My dad was in a car accident almost a year ago.
He spent three weeks in a coma. During that time, the only things he could hear, if he heard anything at all, were my little brother whispering, “Fight, Dad,” and the Braveheart score playing softly from my phone.
My mom never left his side. Not once. She slept upright in a hospital chair, holding his hand. She didn’t go home. She didn’t take a “Starbucks break.” She stayed with my dad.
People say women marry for protection, for resources, for provision.
But what happens when the man can no longer provide? When he can’t speak, can’t walk, can’t open his eyes?
That’s when you see what a marriage is.
My brothers and my husband lifted his body when he couldn’t lift himself. I figured out how to pay his credit card so his credit wouldn’t be dinged. I cooked meals at home and my brother’s boss treated our family to meals at restaurants. Friends sent gifts to my parents’ home. My kids brought youthful energy and joy.
My mom was his rock, his reason. Once he came back to us, he didn’t want anyone but her near him. And she never once complained. She was just grateful he was alive.
They say love is willing the good of the other.
But for a man? A good woman is more than rubies. She reminds you who you are when you forget. She stands by you in sickness and in health. When there’s only the sound of hospital machines and a heartbeat she’s praying won’t stop.
In the East, men were the warriors and women the healers.
In the West, men held the power and women had grace.
But in every culture, the deepest truth is the same:
A good woman brings you back to life
and gives you children and grandchildren who adore you, who drop everything to be by your side when it matters most.
What’s the benefit of marriage for a man?